Biological Therapeutic Advances for the Treatment of Advanced Urothelial Cancers
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Rizzo M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8570720 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:GC (cisplatin and gemcitabine) and MVAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, Adriamycin [doxorubicin], and cisplatin) have been the standard systemic chemotherapy in advanced urothelial carcinoma. These regimens have shown significant response rates in this patient population. Nevertheless, disease does recur with most patients who unfortunately do succumb to the disease. Research efforts are focused in several different areas of therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Further efforts include those in improving understanding of the molecular biology of urothelial carcinoma which may lead development of biomarkers that may enhance therapeutic index. This paper reviews recent advances in the treatment and ongoing study of molecular biology of urothelial carcinoma.
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Project description:Cytotoxic therapy and surgery have improved outcomes for patients with gynecologic malignancies over the last twenty years, but women's cancers still account for over ten percent of cancer related deaths annually. Insights into the pathogenesis of cancer have led to the development of drugs that target molecular pathways essential to tumor survival including angiogenesis, DNA repair, and apoptosis. This review outlines several of the promising new biologically targeted drugs currently being tested to treat gynecologic malignancies.
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Project description:Hormonal cancers affect over 400,000 men and women and contribute collectively to over 100,000 deaths in the United States alone. Thanks to advances in the understanding of these cancers at the molecular level and to the discovery of several disease-modifying therapeutics, the last decade has seen a plateauing or even a decreasing trend in the number of deaths from these cancers. These advanced therapeutics not only effectively slow the growth of hormonal cancers, but also provide an insight on how these cancers become refractory and evolve as an altogether distinct subset. This review summarizes the current therapeutic trends in hormonal cancers, with focus on prostate, breast and ovarian cancers. The review discusses the clinical drugs being used now, promising molecules that are going through various stages of development and makes some predictions on how the therapeutic landscape will shift in the next decade.
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Project description:Treatment of advanced gastroesophageal cancers remains challenging for clinicians, patients, and caregivers alike. Despite considerable research, the therapeutic armamentarium is restricted and hardly personalized. In the first-line setting, trastuzumab with a fluoropyrimidine and platinum agent is the standard-of-care in patients with HER2-positive tumor. For the others, a platinum-based doublet (preferably with oxaliplatin) is recommended. Three-drug cytotoxic regimens should be reserved for exceptional cases where patients have good performance status. Triple combinations produce higher toxicity and provide marginal advantage. In the second line setting, the combination of paclitaxel and ramucirumab is preferred over all others. Currently, nothing is approved in the 3rd or later line. Nivolumab has resulted in an improved benefit in an Asian trial. Early trials of TAS-102, STAT3 inhibitors, anti-claudin 18.2 and other immune checkpoint inhibitors (alone or in combination) are ongoing. However, development of reproducible biomarkers for patient enrichment is critical for future progress.
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Project description:The current standard of care for metastatic urothelial carcinoma is cisplatin-based chemotherapy but treatment is generally not curative. Mechanisms of resistance to conventional cytotoxic regimens include tumor cell drug efflux pumps, intracellular anti-oxidants, and enhanced anti-apoptotic signaling. Blockade of signaling pathways with small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors has produced dramatic responses in subsets of other cancers. Multiple potential signaling pathway targets are altered in Urothelial carcinoma (UC). Blockade of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway may prove efficacious because 21% have activating PI3K mutations and another 30% have PTEN inactivation (which leads to activation of this pathway). The fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 protein may be overactive in 50-60% and agents which block this pathway are under development. Blockade of multiple other pathways including HER2 and aurora kinase also have potential efficacy. Anti-angiogenic and immunotherapy strategies are also under development in UC and are discussed in this review. Novel therapeutic approaches are needed in UC. We review the various strategies under investigation and discuss how best to evaluate and optimize their efficacy.
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Project description:Considerable therapeutic advances for the treatment of vasculitis of the young have been made in the past 10 years, including the development of outcome measures that facilitate clinical trial design. Notably, these include: a recognition that some patients with Kawasaki Disease require corticosteroids as primary treatment combined with IVIG; implementation of rare disease trial design for polyarteritis nodosa to deliver the first randomised controlled trial for children; first clinical trials involving children for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) vasculitis; and identification of monogenic forms of vasculitis that provide an understanding of pathogenesis, thus facilitating more targeted treatment. Robust randomised controlled trials for Henoch Schönlein Purpura nephritis and Takayasu arteritis are needed; there is also an over-arching need for trials examining new agents that facilitate corticosteroid sparing, of particular importance in the paediatric population since glucocorticoid toxicity is a major concern.
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Project description:Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 10-15% of all lung cancers. The prognosis is poor with median survival in the advanced stage remaining at around 12 months. Despite applying every known therapeutic approach, no major breakthrough has improved the overall survival in the last 30 years. Historically, experiments performed on conventional cell lines may have limitations of not accurately reflecting the complex biological and genomic heterogeneity of this disease. However, additional knowledge gained from recently developed genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) and patient derived xenografts (PDXs) have made encouraging inroads. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) data reveals a high mutational burden and a number of genetic alterations but low frequency of targetable mutations. Despite several failures, considerable therapeutic opportunities have recently emerged. Potentially promising therapies include those targeting DNA damage repair, stem cell/renewal and drug resistant mechanisms. Modest success has also been achieved with immune checkpoint inhibitors while therapeutic exploration of various other components of the immune system is underway. However, the complex heterogeneities reflect the need for accurate bio-markers to translate novel discoveries into clinical benefit. Additionally, the molecular mechanisms that differentiate chemo-sensitive from chemo-refractory disease remain unknown. Obtaining reliable tumour samples by utilising novel techniques such as endobronchial ultrasound guided needle aspiration or adopting to liquid biopsies are becoming popular. This review will focus on recent technological and therapeutic advancements to surmount this recalcitrant disease.
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Project description:Introduction:Until recently, systemic chemotherapy was the only option for treating bladder cancer and outcomes remained dismal. After a long gap of no progress for 40 years, immuno-therapy with checkpoint inhibitors (PDL1 and PD1) has revolutionized the treatment paradigm of bladder cancer, with five approved agents to treat platinum-refractory bladder cancer since the first approval of atezolizumab in May 2016. Methods:This review summarizes the most recent data on approved checkpoint inhibitors currently used in management of advanced bladder cancer. Early- and late-phase trials of the five checkpoint inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, durvalumab, and avelumab) in advanced bladder cancer are reviewed in detail. This review also describes the potential application of PD1/PDL1 inhibitors in adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings and non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer, as well as with radiation in muscle-invasive bladder cancer treatment. The role of PDL1 and tumor-mutation burden and clinical considerations in choosing a particular immunotherapy are also discussed. Results:The approved checkpoint inhibitors (PD1 and PDL1 inhibitors) have similar efficacy and safety profiles in metastatic platinum-refractory bladder cancer, but they vary in dose and frequency and cost burden. However, only pembrolizumab has shown superiority over standard chemotherapy in a randomized Phase III setting so far. In addition, in the first-line setting for cisplatin-ineligible patients, both pembrolizumab and atezolizumab are US Food and Drug Administration-approved and well tolerated. There is a lack of consensus on the utility of testing for PDL1 as a predictive biomarker, as patients with no PDL1 expression also derive some clinical benefit. Tumor-mutation burden is another predictive biomarker, but needs further validation. Conclusion:Immunotherapy has offered a glimmer of hope to patients with bladder cancer. The current landscape is rapidly evolving, with novel immunotherapy-combination trials to improve outcomes further and evaluate predictive biomarkers to help identify patients most likely to benefit from such therapies.
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Project description:Dramatic improvements in the outcomes of patients with rectal cancer have occurred over the past 30 years. Advances in surgical pathology, refinements in surgical techniques and instrumentation, new imaging modalities, and the widespread use of neoadjuvant therapy have all contributed to these improvements. Several questions emerge as we learn of the benefits or lack thereof for components of the current multimodality treatment in subgroups of patients with nonmetastatic locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). What is the optimal surgical technique for distal rectal cancers? Do all patients need postoperative chemotherapy? Do all patients need radiation? Do all patients need surgery, or is a nonoperative, organ-preserving approach warranted in selected patients? Answering these questions will lead to more precise treatment regimens, based on patient and tumor characteristics, that will improve outcomes while preserving quality of life. However, the idea of shifting the treatment paradigm (chemoradiotherapy, total mesorectal excision, and adjuvant therapy) currently applied to all patients with LARC to a more individually tailored approach is controversial. The paradigm shift toward organ preservation in highly selected patients whose tumors demonstrate clinical complete response to neoadjuvant treatment is also controversial. Herein, we highlight many of the advances and resultant controversies that are likely to dominate the research agenda for LARC in the modern era.
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Project description:Prostate cancers in the castration-resistant stage are life-threatening because they are not curable in clinic. The novel androgen receptor inhibitor Xandi (Enzalutamide) and the new CYP17 inhibitor Zytiga (Abiraterone) prolonged patient survival only a few months in advanced prostate cancers. Therefore, novel therapeutic agents for advanced prostate cancers are urgently needed. PI-3 kinases are major intracellular signaling molecules that regulate multiple signal pathways related to cellular metabolism, cytokinesis, growth and survival. Accumulating evidence in the literature indicates that some isoforms of this kinase family are oncogenic and abnormally expressed in various human cancers, including prostate cancers. Recent extensive studies from our group and others showed that PI-3 kinase p110? is aberrantly overexpressed in advanced prostate cancers and is critical for prostate cancer development and progression as demonstrated in cell-based and animal models. Importantly, novel p110?-specific inhibitors have been developed and are currently been testing in clinical trials. In this article, we will briefly summarize recent developments in this regard.
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